TERRACE TALK: Reaction from the weekend's top Premier League action

Our pundits take a look at the ins and outs of this week's action.

Season now falling apart at the seams for Wenger

By Bernard Azulay

The old-fashioned wooden terraces at Goodison and the fact it’s been such a happy hunting ground in recent years make Everton one of my favourite away days. Yet my trepidation yesterday proved well founded, as we were second best to the Toffees all over the park, with Martinez’s side seemingly far hungrier and far more motivated by the prospect of the fourth place prize than the Gunners.

Frankly, when we’re left relying on the rapidly ageing legs of Tomas Rosicky, as the sole source of any pace going forward, a ponderous and far too predictable Arsenal look positively impotent up front, especially when Cazorla appears overly comfortable hiding in plain sight, seemingly unwilling to take responsibility with the ball. Compared to the energy and vitality of Everton’s performance, we looked tired and totally devoid of any inspiration and the home team were fully deserving of their two-goal advantage at the break. Most frustrating in the face of repetitive Groundhog day capitulations against in form opposition, is Arsène’s apparent impotence on the touchline and his refusal to ring the changes.

Is it just our manager’s stubbornness that prevents him from making substitutions at half-time, when it’s so obvious he badly needs to breathe some life back into our side? Yet again Wenger waited, until the introduction of the Ox and Aaron Ramsey proved to be just too little, too late.

Only he knows as to the state of Ramsey’s fitness, but from my point of view, his inclusion in the squad was either an indication of his readiness to play, or a patent admission our squad lacks sufficient depth to cope with the inevitable setbacks of a relentless season and in which case, surely Wenger’s failure to bolster our ranks during the transfer window must be viewed as a major gaffe.

However, no matter how distraught I may be at the way in which our title challenge has collapsed in recent weeks and as much as I might fear that the Toffees appear to have momentum on their side in the chase for Champions League qualification, I can’t help but speculate on what might’ve been, if only Wenger had been willing to gamble during the transfer window. However, in reality, our current predicament is a far truer reflection of where our squad is at, at present.

With Sanogo throwing himself around like an unco-ordinated Bambi in his cameo 20-minute appearance, this only reminded me quite how bizarre it was to see him thrown in as a starter against Bayern. Sure Mourinho might be moaning about his lack of firepower but when you contrast Giroud and Sanogo, with Torres and Eto’o, Suarez and Sturridge, Aguerro, Dzeko, Negredo and Jovetic and even Van Persie and Rooney, on paper we’ve got no right to be title contenders.

Moreover, it’s unfortunate we lost Ramsey, Ozil, Wilshere, Walcott and Koscielny, all at such a crucial stage in proceedings and with our surfeit of talent in the middle of the park, I would have never believed it possible we could end up running out of midfielders (I’m not sure I’d be willing to trust my own health to our seemingly incompetent medical team!). Nevertheless, if at the start of this campaign, I’d been offered a fight for fourth place and a semi-final berth as outright favourites for the FA Cup, I wouldn’t have been unhappy.

Yet Wigan will prove no pushovers at Wembley next weekend and Wenger is tasked with lifting the troops to ensure we don’t end up treating them as such, if we are to achieve any redemption from a season which is fast falling apart at the seams.

Terraces divided as we are anything but united

By Richard Kurt

United fans have rarely tended towards homogeneity when it comes to expressing their opinions. Even at the highest, and lowest, points of our history, at the very moments you’d expect unanimity of viewpoint, there’d always be a robust group of dissidents.

In 1974, there were those boisterouslypraising the way the team had played in its final disastrous top-flight months; in 2008, there were those decrying the “defensive” way we’d got to Moscow.

The very name ‘United’ sometimes makes us smile wryly.

It is therefore perfectly understandable that in adivisively madcap season such as this, it’s hard to find any consensus about anything at all, even after what would seem to be such a straightforward case as Saturday.

To some, this was apotential harbinger of a new dawn: the first time we’ve racked up successive four-goals-scored league wins since theglory days of 2007/8;Kagawa and Mataoffering a possible blueprint for 2015; a team without its two best forwards still hammering opponents at a traditionally tough venue, further strengthening a division-best away record.Huzzah!

Yet to others, it was simply to be dismissed: shamefully woeful opposition clearly already on their holidays; a team line-up discovered byaccident, and probably to be instantly abandoned by the goldfish-brained management the second that spoilt prodigal son Rooney is back; a nothing match serving only as a futile training session for a likely humiliation in Munich.

Take your pick, dear reader: depending on how many drinks I’ve had, I could go for either.

To be fair to us, we did at least all agree thatMata was wonderful, and that we’re very glad to have him. Clued-up Reds have long since learned that he was not Moyes’ active choice, and that he was not what we actually needed either; nonetheless, he’s here now, and we’re enjoying him.Especially when he’s picked in his properposition: as a 10.

Sadly, the debate about where to play Mata and with whom is moot as Wednesday’s quarter-final approaches, because he’s cup-tied. At the time of writing, it seems we could also be without Rooney, joining RVP in the treatment room. Many of us already feel we maxed-out our miracle quota last Tuesday, when we avoided getting hammered in a game 90% spent in our own rear third. To go to Munich without our two, or perhaps three, best players and overcome the away goal conceded would have tested Fergie to destruction, never mind Moyes.

Yet off we go, thousands of eternal optimists, heading in giddy packs towards airports across the continent over the next 48 hours,answering the call of the European crusade as we have always done in numbers for almost six decades. These spring days are what we live for, the trips we start dreaming about back in September, every year causing us to draw up lists of where we’d liketo go this time as wecompare notes of expeditions past.

Thus Bayern looming this week has taken many back to the ‘98/’99 season, and happier times, spent reeling around Munich beerhalls. And it was also a campaign which saw us sent off to a second leg to face the best team in Europe, armed with a mere 1-1 home draw. Enter Roy Keane: enter footballing heaven.

Then I look at our squad for Wednesday and I ask myself: “Do we see a Roy Keane de nos jours in their number?”

Somehow, I think this is one of those rareoccasions when allUnited fans would come up with the same answer.

And no, it isn’t “Tom Cleverley?” Stroll against Stoke reminds us of what might’ve been

By Trizia Fiorellino

Saturday’s game against Stoke was a walk in the park which was so maddeningly unfathomable and when I saw that Fulham had beaten Villa, I was even more furious. How can you possibly explain such abject performances against both Palace and Villa, games which effectively have lost us the league, then make such an easy job of Stoke?

Stoke were physical, they tried to close us down, they tried to contain us but we simply played to our strengths and brushed them aside. I think Mourinho too was harbouring the same thoughts, as he didn’t look particularly animated during the game.

It’s easy to point to our well publicised lack of strikers but the fact we have thrown this league away is hard to stomach for a serial winner like Jose Mourinho.

The subject of Torres continues to be the main topic of conversation with fans, although for the first time we are seeing real signs of split opinions amongst the support. Blues fans have always been an encouraging and patient crowd and supported players through dips in form, personal crises and Torres has enjoyed that blind loyalty ever since he joined.

Initially no-one could argue that he was working really hard to regain that prowess in front of goal which had led to us forking out £50m for him. We also used every excuse for mitigation: he was in Drogba’s shadow; the £50m price-tag had hiked up the pressure; the knee injury; the rest of the team not playing to his strengths; the difficulty of playing as the single striker etc. All those excuses have some credence and with the exception of the odd game here and there, Torres generally does work hard, but after three years, one cannot look past his poor goal tally.

I watch him play and still inexplicably believe he could do it for us but back in the pub after another barren game as far as he’s concerned, I can no longer defend him. Few are angry with him but most have just come to the end of the road where he is concerned. They have lost that belief in him and feel that Torres moving on would be best for all concerned.

Watching the goals by Salah and Willian highlighted exactly what Torres has lost — instinct. They see a sight of goal and take it but Torres no longer trusts that first sight and while he is deciding what to do, the ball is lost and the moment has passed. Invariably this happens two or three times a game, which more often than not leads to his head going down, the game is then effectively is over for him.

One doesn’t need to be an expert in body language or subtext to garner Jose has reached the same conclusion.

So tomorrow we try and overturn a 3-1 deficit against a side that again we should have beaten. Complacency was our undoing. We’ve done it before. Most recently against Napoli on the way to actually winning the trophy but then we had the likes of Drogba leading the line. That said, I think we can do it. One thing we do seem to do is raise our game in the face of adversity, and truth be told, PSG weren’t even that good.

They do have some formidable attacking options but then we recently have had a brilliant home defensive record which looks to be earning John Terry another contract extension. This is the same John Terry who Benitez felt was past it, but who is vying with Eden Hazard to be player of the season.

Speaking of Eden Hazard, it seems that PSG look to be sniffing around our mercurial Belgian, with a figure of £50m being bandied about. Given that Jose sold the absurdly talented Juan Mata to effectively build his team around Hazard, it’s going to take a hell of a lot more than £50m to prise him away from us. But there will be plenty that will go, including Lukaku it seems. He’s gobby but he’s young and will learn to be more guarded in public. I think he could have really done a job for us so it will be a shame to see him go. I only hope we learned the hard lesson from the Sturridge sale and do not sell him to a Premier League rival.

There’s a few important games before then though. We can only hope there are a few twists to still keep us in the running.

Quite a sweat but Carroll and the Hammers fail to burst our bubble

By Steven Kelly

I’m still alive, thanks forasking.The last 10 years of my life might be lost thanks to this bedlam of a season but they were only going to be spent in an ugly swirl of forgetfulness and unchanged nappies anyway. Who needs ’em? I’ve not led a healthy life since the turn of the year as it is, building fear into a pre-match ritual. City are bound to do this, Chelsea can do that, oh God I forgot about Arsenal and Everton etc. I’ve been reversing psychology into the pre-Freud days of drilled heads and leeches. I wouldn’t mind if any of it worked.

The weekend was spent eulogising the party-wrecking skills of Messrs Carroll, Downing and Cole garnished with a side order of Big Sam spite (not sure why Allardyce inspires culinary analogies).

It’s over three years since Carroll terrorised Liverpool’s back four in black and white stripes, but that was the only deposit in my memory bank all week.

The reds have been flying, but I’m not sure why supporters are denying one game a week helps. Perhaps they just hate the wobbly gob that can’t seem to shut up about it. Mourinho’s games are pure pantomime now, and even if there were a detrimental effect on Chelsea’s chances and performances, he seems incapable of halting them. Then again, Vincent Kompany was just as bad; amnesia has set in alarmingly.

Saturday was spent pining for results that never stood an earthly, merely reinforcing the old adage that if you want something doing, do it yourself.

The internet, despite my warnings of self-harm (or maybe because of them), continues to wallow in teeth-achingly saccharin iconography of Brendan. Whether Shankly is looking down from heaven or casting a ghostly eye over Rodgers’ match scribbles, it has created a fun game similar to last season’s “Brent or Brendan” quote quiz.

This time you have to decipher if a genuine red is committing such atrocities or some outsider satirist with a butcher’s touch and brick-like subtlety is responsible. Whatever is happening, it certainly hasn’t taken Liverpool long to burrow under the skins of the green-eyed monsters, no matter how successful they’ve been in the Reds’ “absence”.

I’m reliably informed Tibetan caves are fully booked.

You might need them. Carroll’s claims that he wasn’t given a proper chance at Anfield was a chilling prequel to what was in store, and despite an announcement that Sakho replaced Agger because of injury one has to wonder if the Dane’s feelings were being spared.

Suarez had early attempts come close but Sturridge looked ill at ease all game. I’m not sure what change Rodgers expects in Coutinho’s away-day demeanour but he was hauled off early yet again on his travels. In fact there were several below par performances, and Mignolet’s vertigo was always going to be a concern.

You can’t help feeling he was unlucky here though. A slap in the side of the head is a foul nine times out of 10 and there were dark murmurs of conspiracy at half time, not the least about the ref’s ‘Manc-iness’.

The same little slaphead gave us the iffy pen at Stoke in January though, and another two here. West Ham were not happy about the second, but there was a stronger Scouse feeling justice was served albeit by two wrongs making a right. That ought to be English officials’ official motto.

This was a massive test of character and had Carroll scored with his crossbar header at 1-1, you’d be forgiven for being more than a little alarmed and resigned. West Ham were doggedly resistant hanging on to a draw, never mind a lead.

How the hell Suarez didn’t score, only God and a stubborn keeper will ever know, but when it all calmed down afterwards there was no doubting three points were deserved. Just.

Ugly or beautiful, it’s all the same to us. And the heart is still beating, beep… beep… beeeeee...